Hearts, Stars & Automobiles
by Renegadecat
Summary: Princess Tobi has done all she can to make sure that the former Organization members all find their happy endings but what happens when her happy ending coincides with one of theirs?
1. Prologue

**Finally! Tobi's story is being written, I'm not sure how many chapters it's going to be since it is an in progress story. The ratings will be between T and M for language, adult situations and the like. Since it's not finished if you have an idea that would make the story better please post it in a review! Riku, Roxas, Sora, Xaldin and other KH characters you recognize are not mine (neither is Goblin King Jareth) but Tobi, Baxtthia and other original characters are and so is the plot! **

**Prologue**

"It's a good thing we don't vanish if our hearts get returned," one cloaked figure said to another as they wandered the empty halls of Oblivion Castle. 

"Yes, that does help a great deal," the other one mused as they turned a corner and found themselves in the main meeting area. "This place is such a mess!"

"We were lucky it wasn't destroyed though, unlike The World that Never Was." 

"It was all that kid's fault," The second figure sighed as it reached up and tugged down its hood to reveal a long mass of bright red hair. It curled tightly around her fair face and set off her bright blue eyes. The first figure repeated the motion and shook out her short blonde hair and looked around the dirty white room with her inquisitive amethyst eyes. 

"We can fix it up, right girls?" the blonde one smirked as five other cloaked figures appeared and began chuckling. 

"It'll be easier than it looks," one pointed out.

"Come on Baxy give us something harder to do!" another whined playfully, allowing the others to voice their opinions on the matter.

"Enough!" the red head snapped. The chattering group fell silent. 

"Baxtthia has other things to do, as do I. You five will remain here and clean up this castle, hopefully we'll return with new members," the red head smirked. "Let's go Baxtthia," she ordered.

"Yes sister," Baxtthia obeyed as she followed the shorter Nobody into the darkness. 

"How has it been going with your prey?" the redhead asked. 

"Excellent, he wants to marry me," Baxtthia couldn't suppress her sarcastic giggle. 

"I wonder if when we take his heart, he will be the same Nobody he was before, or if a new Nobody will form," the other mused.

"It doesn't matter; he will still be a powerful ally when we initiate our plan. What have you turned up?" Baxtthia asked. 

"Nothing yet, I can't find Marluxia, Vexen or Saix, your somebody has decided to make my search quite irritating," the redhead snapped. "I want her dead." She suddenly said.

"If you kill her you'll never find the others," Baxtthia pointed out. 

"I'm beginning to think that won't be a problem, her brother and his husband were once like us, Axel, Luxord and Roxas as well, she even gave a heart back to our old friend Xemnas. I think it will be quite easy to get at least one of those members back into our folds."

"Are you sure about that?" Baxtthia questioned.

"Of course, you forget, my element is gravity, I'll just put a little pressure on them…" the redhead laughed at her own joke and Baxtthia rolled her eyes. "Actually, it's not so much them I'm interested in anymore…I think I'll just bide my time, Xemnas moved far too quickly to be affective, I think I might wait until the fruit ripens before I pick it off the tree," she shrugged.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Baxtthia demanded.

"Why dear sister, I want their children of course. I'll wait until they're just at the peak of perfection then I'll steal their hearts and swell my ranks with some of the most powerful Nobodies ever." The redhead cackled here and turned towards Baxtthia. "Do it, kill your somebody and turn your prey back to our side, then we'll wait until the time is right."

"Yes sister…" Baxtthia whispered as she created a portal and traveled to the sleepy little town of Godolphin. School was staring soon and she had to be in character if her boyfriend was to believe that she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Silly mortal.

* * *

Meanwhile, up in a tower overlooking the gardens Lady Tobi jerked awake with a loud shout. Her heart beat painfully in her chest as a cold sweat streamed down her body, she shook violently for a moment remembering the nightmare she'd just witnessed. Baxtthia…what is true? And the woman that was with her, could it really be who she thought it was? Maybe it was just stress, Tobi would be going to school for the first time outside the castle. In a few days she'd meet Riku, Roxas and Sora at Godolphin College and together the four of them would chart a course through the terrifying world of adulthood. 

Tobi ran her fingers through her messy brown hair and looked over at a picture on her sitting table. It was taken at the beach a few months ago, she and the boys were posing in front of a large sandcastle they had all built. It was great to have found such good friends in those three. Tobi and Kairi got along fabulously too but Kairi was going to an art school in another place so now it was just the four of them. She looked at the large clock on her wall and groaned. It was far too early in the day to be awakened by nightmares! She flung her covers off and slowly slid to the carpet, the only thing between her bare feet and the cold castle floor. After pulling on a warm robe and slipping into some comfortable slippers she pulled open her heavy door and began to wander down the hallway. 

The castle was quiet and Tobi did her best to keep it that way as she made her way down to one of the many secret entrances into the Labryinth. It always helped her think when she was alone there, wandering around. She blamed her time as Heartless, traveling to different worlds, always free to do as she pleased. Now that she had to stay in one place she felt caged and cornered. She felt if she didn't do something different soon, the Labyrinth that was supposed to protect her would kill her. 

She finally found her way inside the mammoth structure and followed a dark path into a part of the moonlit garden, hedged in by its walls. Wearily she sat down on a cold bench standing there and looked up into the sky. She suddenly had a bad feeling about all of this, but she wasn't sure what she should do about it. Her life might be in danger, her nephew's life might be in danger! It also didn't help that Tobi, for whatever reason, had no discernable powers other than creating crystal balls and tricking people with illusions. But illusions couldn't fight back and you could only fool someone for so long. But the most disturbing part of all of this was that it wasn't just the red head and Baxtthia, it was the other five women that had been left at the castle that bothered her. Who were they? Were they worse? 

Tobi didn't realize that she was falling asleep on the bench until she felt two arms gently pick her up and cradle her. "Papa?" she whispered sleepily.

"What on earth are you doing out here child?" Jareth demanded as he carried her back to her room. 

"I had a nightmare…" she murmured. 

"Well that's no reason to go wandering the Labyrinth," he scolded her as he quickly lighted the stairs and shouldered open her door. "Now go back to sleep child, don't you have an adventure to go on soon?" he asked with the gentle smile of a father who missed his child's more important years. She knew he was working his magic on her because she only managed to nod once before she was fast asleep again.

Jareth stood there for a moment watching his youngest daughter sleep. It had been such an important year for him. Not only did he get back his son and daughter but he'd found the daughter he'd thought dead all these long years. He also had a grandson to spoil and his youngest child was about to find her way in the world. But it was her, more than the other's he felt that he had failed. She was so carefree and kind, what would that kindness lead to in the future? Would it save her or condemn her to a life of sadness? He'd seen what she'd done to ensure the happiness of not only her brother and his mate, but of those men Axel and Roxas, and Lexaeus and Zexion and yet where was her lover? Where was her dearest friend? Taking a deep breath he turned from her and left, maybe he was the one that needed more sleep. Quietly he closed the door and threw his own advice to the wind as he found his own way to the Labyrinth to wander.


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

If anyone had to guess something about the four freshman ogling the college on Orientation day, they certainly would have never guess that two had recently saved the world, one had once belonged to an organization that had almost ended the world and the smallest one, was a princess. Of course the four had already surmised that none of that would matter in a world where they held sports in such high regard that the whole town shut down on game days to cheer on their Godolphin athletes.

However they were still acutely aware that they were different from the other students. Three flinched whenever a scream rent the air and one was constantly looking over her shoulder as if she was certain that someone was spying on her. The four then as one, turned their heads to stare at the large main building where everyone was slowly making their way inside.

"I'm kinda scared…how lame is that?" Roxas finally said as the four couldn't stop staring.

"It is kinda lame," Riku agreed.

"Yeah kinda…but I'm scared too so we can be lame together!" Sora grinned at his counterpart. Tobi took his hand and smiled encouragingly up at him. They'd been dropped off earlier by all their family and practically begged them to leave but now that they were alone, they weren't sure what they were supposed to do.

People began to swim and drift around them, older students greeting old friends and new freshman huddling in small groups around the front lawn trying to gather themselves before taking the big plunge. "It was nice of Zexion to get us in here…" Riku said as they turned back to look down at the small town spread before them.

"Yeah, but I mean our grades were good enough to get us in," Sora added.

"I think this was the perfect place for us all things considered!" Tobi grinned. "Ready guys?" she finally asked after taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, I think so!" Roxas exclaimed, as if he'd suddenly lost his anxiety. And why shouldn't he have? They were alive, happy, loved and ready to start a new chapter in their lives! Tobi laughed and turned towards Sora and Riku.

"Are you guys ready too?" she giggled.

"You bet!" Sora grinned as he gave her a thumbs up, obviously coming to the same conclusion as Roxas and Tobi.

"So how are we supposed to treat you here?" Riku suddenly asked when the four of them began heading inside the large building. Tobi seemed a bit caught off guard by that question and pondered for a moment.

"Like a friend, officially I'm not really a princess anymore so don't let that bother you at all!" she finally smiled.

"I still don't know why you gave up the title, Demyx said it didn't matter," Sora pointed out as they were accepted into a crowd of people entering the building.

"Being a princess is hard work! I'd rather be a Lady, less work dontcha know?" she laughed. "I'm so excited guys! I'm the second person in my family to go to college! LeAnn went…" she added when the boys looked at her strangely, obviously trying to figure out who else in her strange family had had time to go to college.

"I still can't believe you two are related, she's so…bossy!" Sora shook his head as he remembered Tobi's less than genial older sister.

"I like her! She's really funny when she wants to be and I love that she bosses everyone around, even my dad! I don't think he really expected that! It's probably a good thing that she and Luxy live in Twilight Town. Oh that reminds me! We have to send her a nice card, she just found out she's preggers!" Tobi continued to chatter.

The boys smiled indulgently as they let the smaller girl lead them through the crowded hallways into a lecture hall that was almost jammed packed full of people. With a sufficient amount of luck they were able to find four seats together and just as Tobi sat down she took a deep breath to continue talking.

"Hey look, isn't that the dean?" Riku interjected quickly to focus her attention away from talking about how fun it was being an aunt and playing with her baby nephew Myde. Tobi instantly became engrossed with the older gentleman now climbing up the podium and Riku flashed Sora and Roxas a thumbs up and grinned.

"Welcome students!" the deans loud voice boomed over the chattering crowd. And so did the new year begin.

* * *

After orientation, which happened to be three hours of traveling, note taking, book shuffling, locker assigning fun the three intrepid warriors and former princess were exhausted. "I've never walked so much in my life!" Tobi sighed as she weakly leaned against a set of lockers.

"Spoiled," Roxas teased under his breath, but even he had to admit that he was pretty tired out by everything that had gone on today. He was also nervous because Axel and the others were supposed to put their stuff in their dorm rooms and they still didn't know where they were.

"You mind moving?" a cold feminine voice cut into what Sora was about to say and all four looked up to see a towering girl with short blonde hair and cold amethyst eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Tobi smiled at her as she quickly stood up and moved to get out of the way, however her feet tangled themselves and she pitched forward, sprawling on the ground a few inches away. The girl made an exasperated noise and grabbed her arm, tugging her up none too gently and shoving her away into Riku's arms as she yanked open her locker.

"Stupid freshmen," she muttered as she turned her back to ignore them.

"He-," Tobi grabbed Riku's arm and shook her head, desperation in her eyes.

"It's no big deal, honest, don't cause a scene!" she whispered. The older girl finished what she was doing and slammed her locker shut. "Just remember where you sit on the food chain," she tossed her hair and stalked away, closely followed by her friends. Tobi shook slightly as she finally let go of Riku's arm and shirt and blushed. "Oh I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to get fresh or anything!" she shook her hands and smiled nervously. Riku couldn't help but laugh.

"It doesn't matter, you know we'd do anything to help you!" he smiled, looping a protective arm around her shoulder.

"That's right! You're still our precious princess…" Roxas teased while Sora pretended to bow.

"That and your father, brother and sister all threatened us with horrible punishments lest we forget ourselves and you get hurt somehow, so no stupid stunts got it?" Riku scolded her gently.

"Got it!" she smiled. She was about to say something else but at that moment a bell chimed and a raspy voice sounded over the old intercom system.

"Will all freshman please report to the gym for your assignments and schedules, I repeat, Will all freshman please report to the gym for your assignments and schedules."

"I guess that's us," Roxas said still staring at the intercom speaker. "We'd better hurry!" he added as the four of them made their way to the large gym they'd seen earlier.

* * *

When they arrived they found it all a mess with students shuffling paperwork, screaming things and trying to form groups of four as compactly as they could under numbered signs. They immediately noticed a pattern, girls were grouping with girls and guys were grouping with guys. Because of the incredible crush of bodies Tobi and the other's were separated and so had to find their own way around the tables and groups.

When it was all said and done Roxas, Riku and Sora found their names together under one sign next to another group of boys. Tobi, however looked everywhere for her number on the girls side but discovered that they were all even numbers, hers was odd. Being the laid back child that she was Tobi set about finding her group and surprisingly ended up with Riku, Sora and Roxas again.

"Hey what's a chick doing in that group?" one of the boys next to them demanded.

"Are you sure it's a chick?" another snickers. Tobi ignored them and delightfully showed her number to the boys. After all, if they couldn't tell she was a girl with her outfit, then they really were blind. She wore faded flared jeans beneath a short black and red plaid skirt that was complimented by a black t-shirt that proclaimed: _Former Heartless_ on it with a spidery script. Her brown hair was braided and slung over one shoulder and her bust was obviously emphasized.

"Check that out, they must have thought you were a guy Tobi!" Sora joked. However, before much more could be said on the matter, the doors burst open and a multitude of taller, older and far scarier people walked into the gym.

"Alright Senior's you have your group numbers go and be leaders!" a small, energetic woman was shouting through a bullhorn.

"We have senior leaders," Tobi whispered to Roxas as the mass of men and women approached them. There was some more jostling and moving and Tobi got knocked into Sora who just dragged her around with him until they were safe. However, their opinion of safe was quickly deteriorating when they came face to face with their Senior Leader.

"Holy shit," Roxas gulped looking up at the easily 6'3" figure of Xaldin (a much younger Xaldin, but Xaldin still the same).

"Hey Xaldin!" (As if the trio of staring males needed any indication that this was in fact, Xaldin) "Is that a girl?" one of the fellow seniors asked. Tobi squeaked as her arm was grabbed and she was dragged away from Sora to face an inquisitive Xaldin.

"It is," His voice was deeper than they'd thought it be. Tobi flashed him her best smile but winced when he shook her a little. "She's tiny too," he added. Tobi hmphed and blew her bangs out of her eyes. "Come with me," he said as he began dragging her towards the dean and the woman that had led them into the gym.

"Wait! Wait!" she squealed when her feet slid across the floor and she lost her balance. Xaldin stopped long enough for her to right herself before he took off again. She didn't realize how much it sucked being dragged somewhere until she found herself facing the Dean and his assistant.

"Dean we have a problem, this girl got put in my group." he rumbled.

"Oh my dear boy that wasn't a mistake, right Tobi?" the Dean asked with a wink.

"No mistake sir!" Tobi chirped with another smile, she yanked her arm away from Xaldin and glared at him for a moment.

"Mr. Wiater, Tobi's father expressed great concern for her safety and requested that she stay with the group she arrived with, apparently they're all friends." The dean shrugged.

"But…she's a girl!" Xaldin protested.

"Yeah and you're a boy, can we go back now?" Tobi demanded, craning her neck to look up at Xaldin. The dean laughed genially before waving his hand in a clearly dismissing gesture.

"I don't like smart aleck's," Xaldin hissed at her as they walked back to where the other boys were standing.

"And I don't like assholes." She tossed over her shoulder as she ran to get back to the other boys. It was gonna be a long year…


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

It was gonna be a long year…

That was the thought currently parading itself in Xaldin Wiater's mind as he followed his freshman group to their dorm. He couldn't believe his name had been drawn for this ridiculous tradition and his girlfriend had given him such crap! It's not like he could have backed down! He watched one member in particular, that smart ass girl, Tobi Stark. He wondered if she was related to that one kid that vanished a couple of years back, Demyx Stark, he'd have to ask her; especially because it was rumored that he and the History professor at the time where having an affair. He watched as she struggled to keep up with her friends, chattering and laughing with them the whole time. How could one person have so much energy? She could probably run a whole city on that mouth of hers.

But, she was cute, that he had to admit, she'd smiled at him earlier and it'd done strange things to his chest and if he'd been a year younger he might have actually blushed. Good thing he'd actually grown up this summer, he'd moved out of his house, gotten up enough courage to ask Baxtthia to marry him (she'd said yes) and was so far ahead of his studies that he had a promising job waiting for him when he graduated this spring. To top it all off he was the captain of the basketball team and one of the faster runners on the track team, he was a top dog this year, a top dog with a litter of puppies trailing after him.

"Look out Tobi!" The brunette named Sora laughed at her as she tripped over a rock and teetered for a moment before she righted herself. She was a total runt and a klutz, to think that he had started looking forward to this when they'd entered the gym. Why him?

"Alright kids this is the dorm house. Freshman dorms and senior dorms are in the same building, so we can keep an eye on you. Technically these are the boy dorms but seen as how we have a little lady in our group, they've become co-ed dorms for the remainder of her stay." He pinned Tobi for a moment with a glare but she just smiled at him and turned her attention elsewhere.

"So Tobi's the only girl here?" the boy named Riku asked as he folded his arms and glared at the doors.

"That's right, though occasionally a guy will bring his girlfriend in to stay the weekend or whatever," Xaldin shrugged. "The sorority girls visit a lot too," he chuckled.

"See guys? I'll be fine then!" Tobi smiled as she fearlessly reached out and yanked open the door. She gave one small yelp however as a group of towel clad boys came running out, cheered on by a group of seniors.

"Hm, looks like frat hazing started early this year," Xaldin mused as he walked through the open door, leaving Sora to pry Tobi off the door.

"Are you gonna be alright with this Tobi? I mean, all these guys here," Roxas said as he dodged another parade of towel clad bodies.

"I think I'll be fine!" Tobi smiled brightly as she whisked a towel off another running member and quickly admired his backside.

"Wow…just wow." Xaldin shook his head and turned back to his tour, which no one was really paying attention to (because lets face it, Xaldin wasn't even trying at this point). "And this is where the thing is…" he'd say, motioning his hand vaguely down another hallway. The four would look as if to find something interesting then frown up at their senior leader.

"You're not even trying anymore!" Tobi snapped at him as she ran to catch up to his massive strides. He stopped shortly and with a small squeak she ran straight into his back and crashed to the floor.

"Tobi?" All five looked up to see Demyx's head poking out of a door down the hall, followed by Axel's.

"Axel!" Roxas ran to his lover and embraced him with a shout of laughter.

"Big brother!" Tobi squealed right behind him as she tackled the other boy with the strange hairdo. Riku and Sora strolled along with Xaldin to their dorm room where the two beds were already made up.

"Hey guys, your rooms are next door we took care of them too!" Axel said after he got done kissing Roxas.

"Sheesh, didn't you two see each other this morning?" Demyx rolled his eyes as he rested his hand on Tobi's head.

"This coming from a guy who just got done telling me how many times you and your husband do it a day, twelve times a day Demyx, that's not natural!" Axel groused.

"You're just jealous because Roxas doesn't want to do it twelve times a day!" Demyx countered smugly.

"Is this kind of conversation normal?" Xaldin hissed to Riku and Sora.

"Sure, Tobi's brother is gay and so are Roxas and Axel." Sora explained with a shrug. Xaldin was about to ask Sora his preference when Riku came up behind him and licked the side of his neck. "Ah! Riku!" he blushed bright red.

"Let's check out our room eh?" the silver haired youth wiggled his eyebrows. With a shocked blush Xaldin watched Riku and Sora run to their room while Axel and Roxas continued to cuddle.

"So who's your senior leader?" Demyx asked looking up.

"Oh this is Xaldin!" Tobi hopped back and grabbed Xaldin's arm to drag him in. Amazing how her touch felt so warm against his wrist. Demyx and Axel just stared at him, mouths agape.

"What? Surprised to see a straight guy?" he muttered. Tobi sunk an elbow so deep into his stomach he swear he felt it against his spine.

"Be nice to my brother and his friends or I'll make you regret it!" she hissed angrily. Amazing, absolutely amazing the way her eyes snapped when she was mad. Wait! Stop! He reeled away from his own reality for a moment.

"I gotta go, I'll see you four at dinner tonight, um…meet me outside the building!" he ordered as he ran off.

What was wrong with him?! For a second his mind had wandered off where it was just him and Tobi, staring at each other lovingly. Was he being untrue to Baxtthia? No! He loved Baxtthia! Just, that Tobi girl, she was just…different, I mean, who the hell surrounds themselves with gay men? Her brother, her friends, her brother's friends! She probably had no idea how non gay men acted! And even though he felt that this small little girl was nothing but trouble he felt the unexplainable urge to protect her.

He was loosing his mind. He was engaged; he was ready to commit for one woman for the rest of his life and be a father and raise a big happy family. Now he was suddenly willing to compromise all of that for some chit with big brown eyes? He needed a drink!

* * *

Later that night, after chatting with Demyx and Axel, Tobi and the boys wandered outside into the cool night air to wait for Xaldin. "Do you think he's gonna show?" Tobi asked looking around.

"I can't believe you gave him a heart…" Sora was complaining.

"Hey now, everyone deserves a happy ending of some sort!" she scolded them. "Besides, I think he's kinda cute without the dreadlocks and mutton chops!" she giggled.

"His hair is still long!" Riku complained. Tobi leveled him an irritated glance before her eyes followed a group of guys heading towards the campus. The boys took this time to realize that Tobi was a girl. Now normally any casual observer would view this situation and point out how lame it was that the boys had just realized this. But it should be noted that Tobi rarely acted like the girl she was. It had never occurred to them that Tobi might be lonely since she was surrounded by so many couples. Demyx and Xigbar, Axel and Roxas, Riku and Sora, Zexion and Lexaeus, LeAnn and Luxord…every one of them had someone and actually, Tobi had been responsible for it all.

"She thinks Xaldin is cute, you know what this means right?" Sora immediately turned to Roxas.

"We need to get her a boyfriend fast before she ends up falling for that asshole!" Roxas answered.

"Well no, I was going to say just preoccupy her with extracurricular's but that idea works too, look around does anyone look decent?" Sora asked.

"I can hear you guys you know…" Tobi shook her head with a smirk. "I don't need a boyfriend and I'm certainly not attracted to Xaldin!" she chuckled. "Now if you ask me, he's not showing up so I say we follow those seniors right there and figure out where the party's at!" she grinned as she took off after another group of guys heading towards the campus.

All three boys traded looks and took off after her, just to make sure she stayed of trouble, of course.


	4. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

The boys followed Tobi down into the gym where a large line had formed at one entrance.

"You know I'm pretty sure this is a private party…" Sora tried to warn but Tobi was already off towards another door located just to the left.

"You wanna know how to get into a private party?" she smirked as they arrived at the closed door. "You get creative!" she giggled, raising her fist and knocking on the door. A man who was clearly drunk stumbled it open. The boys backed up quickly but Tobi stood her ground.

"Who are you? This is a private entrance!" he barked with all the intimidation of a footballer who spent too much time feeling up cheerleaders and chugging beer.

"Don't get your jock strap in a knot we're the Dj's," Tobi snapped, jerking her thumb towards the boys. The athlete peered at her for a moment, sizing her up and deciding she wasn't worth the trouble.

" 'Kay, DJ booth is up there, put on some good tunes, crowd's getting restless." He muttered, moving aside. Tobi turned and motioned for the boys to follow her and together the four made their way into the building.

"I can't believe that worked…" Riku muttered under his breath. All around them the older students were swaying, drinking, laughing and generally being rowdy as such parties permitted them to be.

"Alright, now you guys enjoy the party, I'mma spin some tunes," she grinned as she bounded up into the DJ platform to relieve the tech kid who'd obviously been roped into doing it. "Hey, take a break!" she shouted at him, clapping him on the shoulder. He looked like he would worship at her feet but she often had that affect on people. Tobi easily put the headset over her ears and slid over a small box so she could better reach the table. She could see the boys out of the corner of her eyes watching her with fascination.

She had to admit this was very strange. She was a princess, she shouldn't know anything about turn tables, sneaking into college parties. She should have been, meek, ladylike and terrified of loud noises. But she wasn't normal, her life had never been normal growing up and she'd learned so much as a shadow and her heart had memories too. The two years she spent away from home she'd learned what it meant to beg and steal for a living, she learned what evilness lurked in the world that was far greater than the Heartless and the Organization. She learned vices, virtues and what it meant to fight for herself and what she believed in. But she couldn't tell her friends that, not because she didn't think they'd understand but because that was part of herself she didn't want to share with anyone else, not even her family.

So let them wonder if they wanted, she was fine with that, besides, they'd thank her before the night was over. When she was finally ready she picked up the microphone. "Hey there everyone, I'm Tobi Stark I'll be your DJ this evening now how about we start things out with a little night music?" she teased as she threw on a record of Mozart's "Eine kleine Nachtmusik". She let the classical music play for a moment, ignoring the jeers and shouts of anger as she deftly flipped another record onto the second player and turned it on, letting the slow steady rhythm of the dance music take over before she turned the sound completely down on the first record and let the second album have full volume. Soon the crowd's displeasure turned to deafening appreciation at her choice of music and as she waved happily to her friends she was completely unaware that she was being watched by a totally different set of eyes.

* * *

Xaldin was flabbergasted. "Dude…isn't that the chick in your freshman group?" Fellow football player Kaleb Jackson was asking.

"I'm going to kill her." He growled menacingly.

"Well, before you do, can you set me up on a date? She's hawt!" he joked. Xaldin glared at him again. "Dude come on, just because you're ready to commit to one girl for the rest of your life doesn't mean I feel the same way!" he pointed out. He looked back at Tobi then and then again at Xaldin. "Oh dude! I totally know that look, you so wanna tap that!" he exclaimed with a known grin.

Before Xaldin could vehemently deny that he wanted to "tap that" the song ended and Tobi's voice floated over the system.

"Alright we're gonna kick it old school now, holla if you know it!" she laughed as the record started playing again, this time with the opening drum solo everyone knew. The gym erupted into a frenzy of shouts and the roar of the crowd joining in on the opening line was deafening. When it had settled down a few minutes later Kaleb stared at him.

"Dude, she just said, "kick it old school" and put on a Quiet Right album, how could you not want to tap that?!" Kaleb shouted.

"Okay from now on you're never allowed to say "tap that" around me again, I don't care if it's the vernacular you've chosen for yourself, never again." he warned as he rubbed his already aching temples.

"Uh-oh dude, ten o'clock!" and all of a sudden Kaleb was gone.

"Well that was just rude." drawled the darkly amused voice of Raxe Kobayashi. Xaldin jumped about ten feet in the air before he turned to face her and her constant companion Xulna Davis. "Hey there Xally, having fun?" she chirped as she hopped up and down trying to get a better look at the stage. "She's so pretty!" she gushed to her friend.

"Agreed, she looks like her mother." Xulna commented as she looked down at her orchid haired friend.

"You two know her?" Xaldin asked, not surprised. Raxe and Xulna were known for two things: Knowing everything about everything that went on, on campus and for their powerful 1-2 attack on the volleyball court. Raxe may be a small pain in the ass but she was a demon with a volleyball. Xulna just scared the hell out of him for some unknown reason. That, and mixed with the continuous feeling of déjà vu whenever they were around caused him great uneasiness.

"Of course we know her, her name's Tobi Stark, she's related to that Demyx kid that ran off with that one professor!" Xulna informed him, Ah ha! So his suspicions were confirmed. "She's also a princess." Xulna added.

"Wait what?" Xaldin stuttered, staring at the two women.

"She's royalty, her brother's the king of some small world or whatever and she's the princess, actually she might just be a Lady now since her brother had a kid but whatever…" Xulna chattered.

"Wait…so the guy I saw today in her dorm room is a king?" Xaldin thought about swooning, the guy didn't even look like he'd be competent enough to make a sandwich and they were saying he was a king. "Wait a minute!" Xaldin suddenly barked. "You're lying; no way some random princess would just show up to go to college here! Sheesh, you two are really clever," he huffed rolling his eyes.

"Well, believe us or not, the choice is up to you!" Raxe shrugged as she and Xulna disappeared back into the crowd. Xaldin glared after them as long as he could, god but they scared the crap out of him.

"Xaldin?" Baxtthia's voice rescued him from his unexplained fear and with a smile he chastely kissed her cheek. "Kaleb tells me that the little runt is in your freshman group," she demanded, turning her cold purple eyes to the small woman on stage, currently trying to get the drunken crowd to do the wave.

"Small mistake, but don't worry about that, wanna dance with me?" he smiled. Baxtthia seemed against it but with an accommodating smile she pressed her body against his and swayed gently. Xaldin was so happy, he was sure he'd never felt this way before and then Baxtthia started whispering little things into his ear that just turned his whole body to mush. Then he felt her hand drift over his chest and the most peculiar feeling began to overtake him. He wanted to give her his heart, every part of him, he could feel the tips of his fingers beginning to numb as her hand rubbed over his chest. How odd. His mind was beginning to blank; he didn't know where he was or who he was.

"HEY!" the loud, brash, intrusive voice of Tobi Stark startled Baxtthia away from him and his body painfully regained itself as her hand left his chest. He missed the contact and instantly turned his savage and angry gaze to the small freshman. "No making out on the dance floor," she winked.

"You!" Baxtthia hissed, stalking over to her. Tobi bravely stood her ground and a small measure of respect formed in Xaldin's heart, even he didn't want to face a pissed off Baxtthia.

"Hey Baxy give the kid a break!" Xulna yawned as she wrapped her arms protectively around the smaller girl. Tobi looked up curiously at the indigo haired woman.

"Get out of my way…" Baxtthia warned.

"Nope we're good," Raxe said defiantly as she stepped in front of Tobi. She walked up close to the blonde and yanked her down to her level. "Can it bitch, it's too soon, you almost took his heart out on the dance floor, control yourself will ya?" and while Tobi had only heard part of the conversation she quickly determined the situation as she caught Xulna idly warping the air around her. She turned and looked up at the woman who gave her an enigmatic smile and put a finger to her lips with a wink.

"Hey Raxe let's get out of here, I think Baxy got the message!" Xulna ordered as she started sauntering away. Raxe quickly followed, pushing Baxtthia away from Tobi in the process. Baxtthia huffed something scathing through her tight lips and turned to walk off, leaving a dazed Xaldin still sitting on the dance floor. Tobi immediately headed over to him knelt beside him.

"How do you feel?" she asked worriedly, afraid that he wasn't all intact, but a gentle hand to his chest assured her that her handiwork was still there. Xaldin seemed to regain himself then and stared down at her small hand on his wide chest a deep blush spreading on the rim of his nose and under his eyes.

"I'm fine, get off me!" he snapped, standing quickly to his feet. "You four shouldn't even be here anyway!" he yelled as Riku, Sora and Roxas came up behind her.

"Well fine!" Tobi shouted at him then, stepping up and defiantly glaring at him. "You think you're so hot because you're a senior so you decided to tell us four to wait for you tonight and you never showed up! Is this some joke to you because I'm not laughing!" she shouted back, pushing him away from her. "Fucking jerks, you're all the same." She spat, turning around on her heel and stalking away, followed closely by the boys. Why did she feel so bad about what just happened? Why did she feel like she wanted to cry? Fucking Xaldin…

Xaldin himself was currently wondering why he'd done what he did to make her angry, why he'd deliberately tried to push her away. Was it because when her hand rested on his chest all he could think about was how warm it was, and how much he wanted her, despite the fact he was engaged? Maybe Kaleb was right, maybe all he wanted from her was pure sexual satisfaction. But somehow…thinking that about her seemed worse than just thinking she was some runt freshman with a big mouth. What was he going to do?


	5. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

A few weeks after the party the four friends had found that they easily slipped into the rhythm of school. They didn't all have the same classes together but when they did they were sitting all together, straight across the room. Sora's major was general studies since he hadn't exactly decided what he was going to do after school while Riku was majoring in law and Roxas was an art major, having shown considerable promise in high school. He was also studying Art History as a fall back if he decided he didn't want to paint for the rest of his life. Tobi was working on a double major of Music Theory/History and Literature with a Minor in Business Management. She barely had time for her friends let alone extracurricular's but she managed to secure a place on the Volleyball team roster. Sora and Roxas had both joined the fencing team and Riku was content to run with a track team (he was pretty good at the shot-put too).

One Saturday morning, after pulling a near all nighter to get her homework done, Tobi wandered into the gym where the volleyball team was meeting to finalize the teams. She'd been practicing with them for two weeks now, bravely doing her best and standing up when others had fallen down. She had proved time and again that she was tough enough to survive the court and compassionate enough to be a leader at the same time. Her goal was simple; secure a spot on the "Go" team. Godolphin had two volleyball teams; "Go" was the first team, the strongest, fastest, the best. The "Dolphin" team was everyone else, second string, not to say that they were bad, however if you were second string you hardly ever played. Tobi held her breath as she slowly made her way into the large gym. Normally the place would be empty except for the volleyball players. But today the football team was here, using the weights. Since Tobi was late she had to run the gauntlet of appreciative whistles and catcalls by herself, embarrassed by the simple fact that her shorts were far too short and her kneepads flopped haphazardly around her ankles. She looked straight ahead and dashed onto the court, right before the door opened on the other side of the gym and allowed the two captains to entered.

Tobi wasn't surprised to see the energetic Raxe and the silent Xulna heading towards them, sleeves rolled up and the front of their shirts soaked with sweat. They'd obviously been playing out on the sand court if the large red gnash on the side of Raxe's arm was any indication. "Alright Ladies, you may or may not be surprised to see us, we're the lovely captains of the "Go" team. We're the ones who say if you join us or stay second string. Now I realize that this a terrifying sport, lots of things can go wrong, but you ladies have proven your worth, now it's just time to see if you're worthy enough for us." Raxe smirked.

"Raxe and I are going to call you all one at a time, the name of the game is simple, whoever lasts the longest gets to be on the "Go" team. We only have one open spot this year, so try your hardest. Since there will be two of us and one of you, you're allowed double hits, first out on your side ends your time." Xulna looked down the line of ten girls and pointed to first girl. "Lets go chickie!" she ordered as she passed the girl the ball.

While Tobi watched the girls ahead of her fight against the captains on the volleyball court she could feel her heart hammering violently in her chest and feelings of panic began to overcome her. The football team had stopped what they were doing and come to watch, Xaldin among them. Tobi couldn't keep her eyes from darting over and looking at him once in awhile and for a split second he looked over at the same time and he smirked at her. The other girls were getting creamed out there, the longest anyone had lasted was five minutes and she looked like absolute crap. He didn't think she could do it, no one did, she was the smallest person in the lineup, even the other girl Raxe was bigger than her! Suddenly as Tobi heard Xulna call out to her to take her place on the court and thinking this was all happening too fast she stepped out onto the court and took the deepest breath she could manage. Time slowed and the shouts of the crowd dulled and faded away. It was just her and the girls, Nobodies to boot, she was sure of it. She picked up the ball lying at her feet and twirled it around in her hand before with a sudden rush of adrenaline she served it over the net.

Raxe was quick to deflect the ball to Xulna who jumped up to land a punishing spike to the other side of the court but Tobi quickly charted her moves and slid down to pop it up in the air high enough so she herself could spike it. However Raxe and Xulna were quick to read her own moves and were already in position to catch it. Back and forth they went, for hours it seemed, and while Tobi could feel her muscles burning all she could think about was proving Xaldin wrong and getting that spot on the "Go" team. So focused was she that didn't realize that her body had had enough until when she went to hit the ball, she collapsed and found that she couldn't get up.

But she wasn't the only one. Raxe and Xulna also collapsed, panting heavily and groaning. "Never again Xulna…this was a stupid idea!" Raxe complained as her small chest heaved up and down as she desperately tried to gather enough air.

"You're the one that wanted to work out before hand!" Xulna countered as she too rolled onto her back. Tobi could barely move and gasped intermittently, trying to gain enough strength to even roll over. It surprised her then when she felt two very strong arms pick her up and turn her over.

"Well I must say I'm impressed, maybe you aren't a runt after all." Xaldin teased her.

"Go away, I hate you!" Tobi groaned as she tried to flip herself out of his arms, but since she could not move of course, she only twitched her fingers in an irritated manner. "Put me down!" she ordered.

"Can you stand?" he asked as he dropped his arm out from under her legs. Tobi tried her best, she really did but her body was at it's limit and the minute she put any weight on her limbs she pitched forward with a small squeak. Xaldin easily caught her again and picked her back up. "Hate me or not, I'm your senior leader."

That was a stupid reason and Tobi knew it but it dawned on her that it might be him trying to apologize for the other night. "Thank you." she grumbled. Xaldin didn't say anything but he smiled just the same.

"So I suppose this means that Tobi's on the "Go" team?" asked one of the other senior players.

"Yup, now can someone please come over here and pick our sorry asses up!?" Raxe screeched from the floor. Two other guys from the football team ran over to help them up and together the two Nobodies made their way under the net towards Tobi. "Way to go kiddo, you're on the "Go" team." She congratulated her. "Go take a shower!" she ordered.

And that was that.

* * *

Later that day as Tobi soaked in the hot tub in the trainers quarters she couldn't help but think of Xaldin carrying her all the way over here. She'd been carried before; her father had done so not that long ago. But there was something odd about it this time, something about being so small and cradled in his large arms that made her feel strange and unusual things. She blushed just thinking about it. The door opened again as Raxe and Xulna stumbled in. "Good lord Stark, move over!" they bitched as they practically tossed themselves into the tub. After the water stopped sloshing and the three had situated themselves Tobi opened her mouth.

"Yeah we're Nobodies." Xulna answered as she leaned her head back and hissed at the hot water.

"Why're you here?" Tobi questioned.

"We were ordered here to help Baxtthia with her mission." Raxe explained.

"But you stopped her the other day." Tobi pointed out.

"We don't like her, so we like to make her life as miserable as possible. Besides, you're the one that really stopped her. You like Xaldin don't you?" Raxe teased.

"No I don't!" Tobi retorted.

"Uh-huh, you're blushing!"

"It's hot in the tub!" Tobi argued back. The three women sat there in silence for a moment, each enjoying the hot bubbles of the tub, but two were defiantly eyeing the other. "Is Baxtthia my Nobody?" Tobi asked quietly.

Raxe and Xulna traded looks and sighed.

"Yeah kiddo…sorry," Xulna murmured. "If it's any consolation, we like you a whole lot more!" she added.

"I just think it's so weird that my Nobody would act that way…" Tobi sighed.

"Not really, I mean, you're pretty much sweet and nice and totally selfless so it would stand to reason that you're Nobody would be totally opposite…I guess," Raxe shrugged. "So let's talk about how you're going to get Xaldin to fall in love with you!"

"What WHAT?!" Tobi screeched. "I don't want him to love me! I don't want anything to do with him! He's arrogant and cocky and he has absolutely no idea how to treat a lady and besides he's engaged to Baxtthia!"

"Who just wants to steal his heart and induct him back into the Organization!" Xulna groused. Silence again.

"Why do you think he should fall in love with me?" Tobi demanded. "I'm tiny and hyper…and my family is a nightmare!" she added with a shudder. "Any guy that wanted me wouldn't want me after that!" she bemoaned.

"Is that why you've never even been kissed?" Raxe teased, squealing as Tobi splashed water in her direction. "Listen kiddo, all we're saying is that you need to think about yourself now. Everyone's got someone but you! So be a little selfish!" Raxe advised.

Tobi didn't say anything, she stared at the churning bubbles for a long moment before she rose to her feet and left the tub, grabbing her clothes in the process. With a small backwards wave she left and Raxe moved to the other side of the tub with Xulna. "So, you think she'll think about it?"

"I think you're an idiot…but I love you anyway." Xulna sighed. Raxe stuck her tongue out and leaned back, closing her eyes and sighing. "It's gonna be a long year!" she quipped.


	6. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Tobi thought that would be the last she saw of Raxe and Xulna if it didn't involve a Volleyball game. She was very, very wrong.

The next morning, as Tobi dozed on her music history book and Roxas snored under his art history book the quiet sounds of early morning life began to creep their way into the room. Well, that was before Raxe, Xulna and the rest of the "Go" team broke down the door and grabbed their unsuspecting victim. With a muffled shout Tobi found herself rudely awakened as she was carried out the door by fifteen giggling, squealing and rowdy volleyball players. Roxas jerked awake with a snort and sat up, sending his large book crashing into his lap. Wincing painfully for a moment he could only catch the tail end of a jean clad buttocks before he noticed that Tobi was gone.

"Roxas!" Sora stuck his head into the room, followed by Riku. "What the hell, you just let Tobi get kidnapped!"

"Dude! It's not my fault I was sleeping!" Roxas defended as he resisted the urge to throttle the other boy. "Besides, I think it was just the volleyball team…" he groaned as he painfully stood up.

"Good point, it might just be induction things…" Sora pointed out. "She did make it on the team." He mused.

"Speaking of teams…" Riku dashed out of the way as the fencing team came and absconded with the protesting Sora and Roxas. Riku then turned to see the track team approaching him. "Hold it!" he snapped. The team surprisingly obeyed. "I'll go along quietly, just don't touch me." He ordered. With an air of one used to be obeyed or at least highly respected the team parted as Riku made his way between them. With a small smirk he reached back to pull his hair into a ponytail. Maybe he should use his evil new powers of persuasion on Sora tonight…

* * *

Meanwhile Tobi had been stripped in the locker room and was trying to protest as her new teammates dressed her, primped her, did her hair and makeup and forced her tiny feet into shoes with giant heels. When they were done she stood precariously in large sandals with four inch heels, a denim miniskirt with a dark green halter top that brought out the hidden highlights in her hair; her hair…incidentally, had been ironed straight and twisted into a fancy bun with styling sticks, intricately placed. Her makeup was surprisingly tasteful and flattering for her skin and natural coloring. But she was still angry.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" she practically shrieked when everyone stood back to admire their handiwork.

"Oh don't be pissy, we're taking you shopping, you do have a credit card right?" Raxe asked as she stepped from behind the crowd. "Well what I mean by that is that we're all going to buy you part of an outfit, right down to the unmentionables so you have something to wear when you go on your big date with Xaldin!"

"Wait, I thought Xaldin was engaged to Baxtthia?" one of the other girls asked, followed by other murmurings of thought.

"Yeah he is, but lets all admit girls, do we like Baxtthia?" Xulna asked as she came to stand next to Raxe, it didn't surprise Tobi (or the other girls) that they were dressed in a similar fashion for today's outing. Raxe and Xulna both sported jeans (one in wide legged, the other in flares) and shirts that showed far too much skin, but Tobi had to admit that they looked good. Especially Raxe in her black halter top, Xulna was wearing a peasant shirt with a dark red corset laced up to emphasize her generous chest.

"No!" the girls shouted in disgust.

"Great, so then operation: "Let's hook up Xally with Tobi" has officially begun!" Raxe squealed as she turned to lead the way. As she and Xulna turned their backs, Raxe was quick to note the tattoo's they each sported. Raxe had the letters XVI (obviously her Organization Number) inked into her right shoulder while Xulna sported XV on her left. Tobi did not have time to ask them the significance of their tattoo's since the other girls were busy trying to get her to walk outside.

"It's just a step to the left, then a jump to the right! Put your hands on your hips, and bring you knees in tight!" Xulna sang back to her with a grin. The other girls laughed but Tobi failed to understand the song or the significance. She was scared, she was uncertain and she was excited all at once. She never dressed this way, ever! She'd always been sure not to show too much skin or too much cleavage or anything! She was a princess, she was a proper Lady! At home she wore breeches and long flowing shirts…though, lately they hadn't been going over real well at school, in fact she'd started raiding the boy's closets after the first day when the long sleeve her poet's shirt got stuck in her locker.

"Did someone at least grab my wallet?" she sighed when she realized that this was inevitable.

"It's right here Tobi!" smiled a girl named Kelly. "By the way, don't let the captains intimidate you much, I know they can be a bit crazy but they're super sweet!" she whispered as she handed over the beat up brown wallet that Tobi borrowed from Luxord.

Now that in itself was a curious statement. How could Nobodies be sweet? Now Tobi wasn't one to argue with conventions and the like but even she had a hard time believing that Raxe and Xulna could be sweet. There was something about them, something dark and dangerous, something that screamed there was more to them than they let on. Besides, what Nobodies worked together?

"So, you're not from around Godolphin are you?" Kelly was asking when Tobi finally brought herself back to reality.

"Oh no, actually I'm from a totally different world!" Tobi shrugged.

"Wait…are you trying to say that you're out of this world?" Kelly asked. Tobi quickly rethought her responses, apparently not everyone knew there were worlds outside this one…

"I'm sorry, that was a stupid answer, I wasn't paying attention! Actually I'm from out of state!" she smiled. Kelly liked that answer better and smiled back.

"That's cool, I see you hanging around with a few boys between classes are they from the same state?" she asked.

"Well, no but they got to know my brother and I fairly well when we were traveling together!" she improvised. "We're practically family!" she added.

"That's so cool to have a big family, even if most of them aren't related to you! I only have a younger sister back home in town and she's a nightmare sometimes!"

"Oh I totally know what you mean! My older brother and his husband just had a baby and my older sister just got married and it's such a hassle to be at home when both of them are there!"

"Aw I think it's so cute that gay couples adopt!" Kelly smiled. Tobi decided it was prudent not to tell her that her brother had actually delivered her nephew, in fact, she didn't even want to think about that herself.

"Yeah, he's super cute, I think he's almost a year old, or just over a year old…it's hard to keep track!" she laughed.

All the way to the mall Kelly and Tobi exchanged stories and laughed about their families, Tobi of course making extra sure not to confuse her new friend. The mall was thankfully within walking distance of the campus because by the time Tobi sat down on a bench, her feet were killing her.

"Come on Stark, we've got stuff to buy!" Raxe shouted at her.

"Ohhhhhhhh! On an April fools Sunday! Riding riding we shall be!" Xulna murmured softly but with an evident grin.

"Ugh." Tobi conceded.

* * *

"Hey Xaldin, check out the volleyball team," Kaleb poked him in the side as the girls walked by, chattering and giggling as Tobi tried to keep up. Raxe and Xulna were leading the way and trying to conduct them all to singing (Xulna's doing no doubt) but they were having too much fun discussing Tobi's new wardrobe, makeup, underwear, socks and accessories. Xaldin found that he couldn't stop watching the smallest member, especially when she finally smiled and hid her face in embarrassment; her blush was so cute…

"Xaldin!" Baxtthia's voice cut into his guilty fantasy and he turned to face her with a grin. "Ugh, it's them…they drive me nuts!" she threw in the direction of the captains.

"Dude, I'm gonna do it!" Kaleb whispered as he stood up and swayed a bit with nervous energy.

"What are you doing?" Baxtthia demanded.

"I'm gonna ask her on a date!" and with that Kaleb took off towards the girls. Xaldin's first reaction was to stop him, to take him down and ask Tobi himself, but with Baxtthia hovering near his shoulder those thoughts quickly vacated his mind, though he couldn't help tensing up as he watched his friend bumbling through his question.

"So…I think we should date!" he shouted finally. Tobi looked very surprised and backed up a bit. But a gracious grin spread across her face.

"Alright! But I don't really know what dates consist of, so I'm afraid you'll have to humor me!" she smiled. Xaldin wanted to toss her off the balcony; he was somehow disappointed in her. Not like he entertained fantasies about her (well alright, not many) but in his mind he thought that his natural charisma was affecting her and he'd have be the gallant gentleman and let her down gently when she inevitably confessed her love to him. But no, here she was, enthusiastically accepting an invitation from probably the biggest Casanova in the school. She looked so oblivious too…god she pissed him off and the scary thing is, though he tried to put reasons to it, he really didn't know why.


	7. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

It was hell on earth, that's what this was.

Xaldin shifted uncomfortably in his chair as Baxtthia glared across the table at a nervously smiling Kaleb and an oblivious Tobi. They'd been talked into a double date by the intrepid love struck youth and because Xaldin just couldn't tell his best friend no, here they sat in an awkward silence each wishing they were somewhere else. The restaurant was nice, but not too expensive and the service was as good as the delicious food and yet an air of considerable discomfort hung around the table.

"Um, I have to go to the bathroom, Xaldin come with me!" and with that Kaleb quickly vacated the table, followed by Xaldin. "Dude!" he hissed as the two dashed behind a wall divider. "This sucks, I totally thought Baxy and Tobi would get along!" he huffed. Xaldin decided not to mention that Tobi had interrupted their make out session not that long ago. The two peeked over the divider at the now talking girls. "Oh dude, they're talking, maybe they were just nervous 'cause us guys were there right?" he smiled hopefully. Xaldin wanted to deck him and call him an idiot but decided against it. Judging by the look on Tobi's face the conversation wasn't a pleasant one. Funny how that girl could smile so pleasantly when her eyes gave her away, he wondered briefly how many people knew that about her.

* * *

"So, I heard you're aiming to steal his heart." Tobi said casually the moment Kaleb and Xaldin were out of hearing distance.

"What are you so pissed about?" Baxtthia snapped, knowing that Raxe and Xulna were behind this.

"Well since I made sure to give him his heart back I don't want someone else coming along and mucking up my handy work," she smiled pleasantly, though her brown eyes were filled with repressed anger.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that darling, once Xaldin comes back into the fold you won't have to worry about either of us!" Baxtthia chuckled darkly. "It's so interesting; I would have never guessed my Somebody was a little thing like you." She remarked as she took a bite of her food. "So small and cute, everyone must treat you like some sort of child!" she smirked.

Tobi shifted uncomfortably. Yes, people did tend to treat her like a small child because of her stature and wide curious eyes. Her biggest fear was that someday she'd miss out on something she really wanted because of that. Suddenly realizing that Baxtthia was merely trying to drag her down the small princess tossed her hair back and glared at her. "Yes, I am small and cute, and you're big and ugly, perfect opposites." She grinned as she happily finished her dish. Baxtthia was still seething as Xaldin and Kaleb sat back down.

"You girls having fun?" Kaleb smiled, hoping someone would smile back.

"Lots of fun!" Tobi chirped as she wiped her mouth. No one else spoke for the rest of dinner.

* * *

"Um, so…I had a lot of fun!" Kaleb stuttered as he faced Tobi outside her dorm door.

"Yeah! I hope we can get together again sometime! I think we'll be really great friends!" Tobi smiled. Xaldin inwardly winced as Kaleb's face fell. Alright, maybe Tobi really was oblivious. She waved to him quickly and slammed the door in his face as she entered the dorm she shared with Roxas.

"Dude…" he sighed as he approached Xaldin. "She said friends…" he sighed and slumped his forehead on the other's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it dude, maybe this just proves it wasn't mean to be!" he quipped. Kaleb glared at him and then sighed.

"Yeah, you're probably right, oh well huh? Maybe I'll turn my sights towards Baxy now, she's totally hawt!" Kaleb joked. But Xaldin knew his friend was upset by what Tobi had said, because his smile wasn't as cheery as usual and so he could forgive him his comment. "Come on, I need a drink!" he sighed, heading off towards the favored campus club The Wake.

* * *

"So…how was your date?" Sora drawled smugly as he sat in Riku's lap while he and Roxas battled it out on the bed playing some version of Halo.

"Terrible, Baxtthia is a bitch!" she muttered as she threw down her purse and kicked off her shoes. "Makes me wanna scream!" she huffed as she grabbed her pajama's and hid behind the sheet she erected to keep the boys from seeing her change. When she emerged again she jumped onto the bed in front of Roxas and Sora and of course caused their untimely demise. With shouts of protest all three boys jumped her and an odd sort of wrestling match ensued which was punctuated by Tobi's shrieks and laughs from the other three as they fell to tickling one another.

"HEY!" someone barked through the door. "Shuddap! People are trying to sleep here!" Muffled giggles emanated from the bed as the four friends situated themselves on Roxas's bed and changed the channel to watch their favorite show, _Scrubs_.

* * *

Xaldin sighed as he opened Roxas and Tobi's dorm room to see the four freshmen curled up on one bed and sleeping soundly. The TV was droning softly and the remote was resting on the floor under Riku's outstretched arm, he must have dropped it last night. He'd come in here to embarrass the poor girl as some sort of payback for Kaleb but the moment he saw her head resting against Roxas's shoulder and sandwiched under Sora's outstretched legs he blushed a little, she was so cute when she was asleep! Alright enough of that! "STARK!" he shouted, causing all four freshman to jump and a couple to land on the floor with a painful thud. Tobi stuck her messy head up and fixed him with an irritated gaze.

"Seriously?" she arched an eyebrow.

"Couldn't pass it up, Raxe and Xulna are looking for you outside!" he stuck his thumb out the door.

"Aw man!" she groaned as she quickly vacated the bed and began tossing off her pajama's. Xaldin was in too much of a state of shock as she dashed around the dorm in a matching bra and panties set, tugging on jeans and a t-shirt that she yanked off a hanger in the closet. "Gotta go!" she yelled over her shoulder as she grabbed a duffle bag and after briefly grabbing Xaldin's arm as she slipped into her shoes, she was out the door.

"Does she always do that?" he demanded.

"Nah, she just wanted to show you what you're missing," Riku smirked as he stood and stretched. He winced however as Sora socked him with a pillow.

"Don't listen to him, Tobi forgets that there are straight guys everywhere and that we three and most of the men in her life are just a minority." Sora informed him. "So if she just strips again try not to freak out, chances are she doesn't realize that there's a straight guy around."

"Or her gaydar is going off and she knows what Xally really wants," Roxas teased, pleased that the senior's face flushed crimson. "We're all taken so get out you pervert!" he laughed as Xaldin took off out of the dorm. "Ohh…" Roxas exhaled after the boys had laughed themselves silly. "She's in love with him isn't she?" he finally asked.

"I'm pretty sure…" Riku sighed.

"Pretty darn sure…" Sora added.

"Shit." The three muttered in unison.

* * *

"What is your deal?!" Tobi shouted as Raxe sat on her back; happily munching on a cookie that Xulna had given her. It wasn't that the Nobody was sitting on a sensitive area but Tobi was tired of talking and eating grass at the same time.

"I can't believe you pissed off Baxxthia, she was ranting and destroying things last night in the castle!" Xulna frowned.

"It was great!" Raxe chirped.

"Quiet Teacup," Xulan drawled as she squatted next to Tobi's head. "Listen kiddo, we know you like him, I think it's some sort of ingrained thing from when you were a Nobody so you might as well fight for what you want!" she informed the struggling girl.

"What do you mean!? I don't like him! I think he's an egotistical asshole who likes tormenting freshman for the sole purpose of perpetuating the "Seniors are big scary thugs" rumor! He woke me up this morning!"

"Well we were looking for you," Xulna pointed out. "You're like the only girl allowed to enter the dorms without a male escort or a damn good excuse…" she frowned. "Look, just think about it alright? Maybe you'll find that he's not that bad!" she suggested.

"Oh fine, sheesh now get off!" With a surprising show of strength Tobi bucked up and sent Raxe flying into the grass.

"My cookie!" she whimpered as the last half went rolling into an anthill. Xulna went to comfort her friend as Tobi dusted herself off.

"You two are so WEIRD!" she shouted, grabbing her duffle bag and heading off to the gym to get a work out in. She was already up and ready, she might as well make good use of her anger. As the Nobodies watched her leave Raxe smiled.

"It's fun to mess with her, but at least now whenever she sees Xally she'll think cute things about him!" she grinned like a mischievous cat. "Now we just have to convince Xalenn that Tobi and Xaldin would be better together than apart," she sighed.

"Is there a particular reason that we're meddling with Tobi's love life?" Xulna demanded, folding her arms and looking down at her partner.

"No, I just know that it pisses Baxtthia off whenever those two are together and you know how much I love pissing Baxy off!" but Raxe's smile was not one of a happy go lucky Nobody who simply loved to piss off her superiors, she was plotting something. But Xulna decided not to ask, she knew that Raxe would eventually spill every little detail but until then it would be an absolutely nightmare to live with her random giggling and muttering under her breath. Honestly, she was almost as bad as Xulna on a bad day…almost.


	8. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Two months later and things were going very well for the intrepid freshman, soon it would be time for Christmas break and they'd all go home to their families. Tobi couldn't wait to see her little nephew and how big LeAnn had gotten with her baby. Unlike Roxas who got to see Axel regularly Tobi rarely got visits from her family due to other things going on. But she was happy because even though Volleyball season was over (the team had placed second overall) the team was still close, going shopping and eating together. Tobi's desk became her makeup station and while she practiced putting on makeup and dressing just so, she was still a dedicated student that finished her homework on time, studied late into the night and read textbooks endlessly between classes.

Senior Leaders were more or less forgotten, though once a week they were required to meet to discuss how things were going with their classes and campus life. Most of the time the boys would play Halo while Tobi dutifully studied or slept in a corner somewhere. Every time she saw Xaldin, she couldn't help but think about what Raxe and Xulna had said. He wasn't so much a jerk anymore since he'd gotten used to the idea of caring for them (in his own way of course) but she still avoided him as much as possible because even though she tried to tell herself the opposite, she realized that she was very much enthralled by him. His hair was growing out fast and Kaleb had convinced him to put dreadlocks into his hair and so he resembled the Nobody he'd been in the Organization, except he was much younger and his hair was a bit shorter.

One night as she came back from a late night study session her shoulders slumped as she saw a necktie thrown haphazardly over the doorknob. Great, Axel must be visiting this weekend. She headed down the hall a bit further to spend the night with Sora and Riku but a particularly loud groan from inside made her think twice and she looked around desperately. The dorm would be locked down for the night in two minutes and she couldn't get to the girl's dorms that fast to spend the night with Kelly or Raxe and Xulna. Grimacing she knew what must be done.

Honestly she was acting like a lamb to the slaughter as she dragged her feet up the two flights of stairs to the rowdier Senior dorms. She dodged a few guys playing football and glared at anyone who dared to catcall. Her heavy messenger bag bumped against her knees rhythmically as she approached the one door she hoped to only see once this week. Swallowing the lump in her throat she squeezed her eyes shut and knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" Xaldin poked his head out with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. Was it mentioned that he was shirtless and therefore exposing his entire chest of rippling muscles, lightly furred in dark chest hair? "Oh hey Tobi, something wrong?"

Tobi averted her eyes and shuffled her feet, her cheeks burning from humiliation, nervousness and attraction. "Um…can I stay here tonight with you?" she whispered. If Xaldin hadn't leaned forward and strained to hear he surely would have missed it.

"Me?" he caught his toothbrush before it could fall out of his mouth.

"Yeah, uh…Axel is over tonight and Riku and Sora are…um…busy…" she blushed an even brighter shade of red and stared determinedly at a stain on the carpet. "And the dorm is closed so I can't go stay with the girls tonight…look I promise I won't take up a lot of space!" she muttered. That was the understatement of the century; she could probably fit under his bed with no problems. Oh why did she have to stay the stupidest things?!

"Hey baby you can stay with me!" another senior joked as he put his arm around her. Tobi jumped and stared uncomfortably in the other direction.

"Alright everyone just settled down, I'm her senior leader; now get back to whatever it was you're doing!" Xaldin barked as he casually tossed off the other's arm and gently urged Tobi inside.

"Baxy isn't gonna be happy!" someone shouted from down the hall, followed by teasing laughter. Xaldin flipped them all off and shut the door, closing his eyes to block out the irritation. When he opened them he noticed that poor little Tobi had already retreated into the farthest corner possible and was trying to pile her things into an awkwardly small pile.

"Look Tobi, relax alright? You can have the bed tonight and I'll sleep on the floor." He shrugged as he reached for a shirt to make things a bit more comfortable for the poor thing. Funny, he wouldn't have pegged her as the speechless damsel in distress type. Sure she had a strange way about her that was one part proper and another part street urchin, maybe it was her strong posture, the tilt of her head that said she didn't care who you were, she wasn't going to take your crap. Or maybe it was the blush that crossed the bridge of her nose when anyone male even looked twice at her. His eyes quickly took in the figure staring at his wall of posters, art and weather maps.

She was tiny, Roxas had mentioned once that she was only 4'11" compared to his 6'4" that was a 2' 7" difference…which was plenty enough to land her face around the middle of his chest. But he'd never been that close to her before. Well, there was that one time on the volleyball court but she hadn't been able to stand properly. She stood in dark tan corduroy jeans that flared a bit at the bottom and a flattering brown tank top, her matching brown hair had been twisted up haphazardly and clamped tightly with some sort of hair device. Baxtthia used them once in awhile, but he never remembered her looking quite as pretty as Tobi did.

"You know I never asked what your major was."

"What?" Xaldin started and stared at her finally, catching a flash of irritation from her.

"What's your major?" she asked again, folding her arms over her chest and cocking her hip to one side, ah, now that's the Tobi he knew so well.

"Oh! My major? Well, it's not that great…" he waved his hand absently and went back into his bathroom to rinse his mouth and put away his toothbrush.

"That's cool, do all seniors get their own bathrooms?" she asked, poking her head in.

"Yeah, now out!" he groused, pushing her head back out. "Anyway my major…well it's meteorology with a minor in astronomy."

"Really? Wow, big footballer like you likes stuff like that? I'm impressed!" she grinned as she sat down on his bed. "Ugh, the beds still suck."

"Yeah the beds don't get much better when you move up, that's why the bathroom is so nice!" he grinned. "You freshman all have a communal bathroom, which reminds me, how do you shower?" he demanded.

"I get up really really early or I use the girls bathroom if I'm over there. I've actually got a few things stashed in Kelly's room and with the captains!" she grinned. "It's not that hard, all the guys are pretty good about not yanking down my towel or teasing me if I walk in on them. I hardly ever notice them anyway."

Xaldin was reminded of the brief conversation he'd had two months ago with the three boys, was she really that oblivious or did she just not care? "So, you don't really care if you see a guy naked?" he found himself blurting out. Way to go…

"Well, I guess that depends on the guy," she smiled, trying to keep the shakiness from her voice, hadn't she gotten butterflies from just seeing him half naked? No Tabitha, do not answer that question! "Most of the time I just kinda forget that I'm a girl."

"How on earth do you forget that you're a girl?" Xaldin arched an eyebrow as he opened his little refrigerator and took out a couple of cans of beer. He tossed one to Tobi without thinking but quickly panicked when she cracked it open. "Wait give that back!"

"Too late, already drinking it!" she sang as she took a swig and grimaced. "This stuff is horrible, I should have brought up what Rox and I have the fridge."

"Oh please don't tell me you drink…" he groaned.

"Once in awhile, we have hookups," she grinned mischievously as she cradled the cold aluminum can in her slim and delicate hands. "Anyway! Back to your question, I guess it's just because most of my life I've been around men, well at least for all the years that mattered when you're growing up. I have an older brother of course and he's gay so he's got a husband, and my mom died when I was girl so my dad is very overprotective of me. And well, I just found out I had a sister not that long ago and she's the only female in my life so far, I mean I have another female friend, but she's off at Art school." She trailed off for a moment and looked down at her can. "It's hard to remember that when guys are around they might feel something for you because of how you look. But I don't think about it because I mean…all the guys I love and live with are gay so I've never had to worry about what the opposite sex thinks about me. I don't know if guys think I'm cute or what they think about me when I walk by. I mean, I get so flustered whenever anyone says things about the way I look and catcalls! Ugh! I never know how to react because I don't know if they're real or just teasing." She shrugged. "Not like it matters in the long run." She drained her can and tossed it neatly into the trashcan. "Got another?"

* * *

Two hours later Tobi had finished her fifth can (and effectively depleted Xaldin's stash) and laughed at the second joke Xaldin had cracked in two hours. He was on the floor leaning against his bed as Tobi sat across form him on her rump, knees bent and legs splayed out behind her. Her hair was falling out of her clamp and the more she laughed the more worried Xaldin became.

"Oh! This is the most I've laughed in a long time!" she grinned as she wiped tears from her eyes. She drained the last of the beer in the can and tried to set it aside but it slipped from her quivering fingers and clattered on the floor. Her blurry eyes watched it spin twice on the floor until she grinned.

"Hey Tobi, something's been bothering me lately. I heard a rumor that you're a princess, is that true?" he asked as he set aside his third beer. However, being the seasoned drinker that he was, he hardly felt a thing, though guilt was gnawing at him for letting the underage freshman drink five. Tobi suddenly went quiet and stared at the floor again. Xaldin wondered quickly if he should retract his question but her heavy sigh signaled that she was preparing to either rant at him or cry. Surprisingly, she did neither.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." She was quiet for a moment longer, before she pulled her knees up and swung her legs around. "But I'm not much a princess anymore. My brother and brother-in-law…well actually, everyone I know, even you…fought so hard for life and even though I tried so hard to make sure everyone got what they deserved I just can't help but think that I did a bad thing. So I made a bet with my father that I knew I was going to loose so I wasn't hanging around all these happy people." She paused for a moment and wiped her face with an absent hand.

"I just wanted to get away from everyone and everything. I'd been allowed to go wherever I wanted and do whatever I pleased and what did I do? I spent all that time worrying about other people! I know that I'm probably the most preppy, happy person you know, and yeah I do smile a lot and believe in happy endings but you know…" here she stopped and focused her eyes back onto Xaldin. "My life's not all Hearts and Stars, there are Automobiles there too!" Tobi looked away again and focused her eyes on the wall. Xaldin turned to look at the pictures himself, trying to decipher what she just said. Xaldin wasn't sure what she meant, but decided that a drunken Tobi was merely a rambling Tobi and since she'd obviously overindulged…his train of thought however was seriously derailed as he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and turned just in time to have Tobi's lips pressed against his.

Shock waves reverberated through him and while parts of his mind screamed that this was so wrong, so very wrong considering his engagement and future life time commitment to Baxtthia, other parts were more than happy to stuff those protests into boxes and toss them off cliffs. Her breath smelled so sweet for someone who just chugged five beers. And…good lord in heaven she was a good kisser. He couldn't help himself, his hands drifted to her cheek and gently buried itself into her hair, freeing it from its meager clamp confines and caressing its soft silky strands. His other hand started at the thigh that was so casually thrown over his waist, drifting up under her shirt to stroke the velvet skin of her taut stomach.

Her lips pulled away and deep pants of breath echoed against his ear, containing far more passion than any of Baxtthia's gasps and moans of pleasure. Oh shit he was getting turned on just by having her near him, well certainly it didn't help that she was sucking on his neck and rubbing against him. Perhaps if he just stayed still she'd think he was asleep and give up. But he didn't have to worry about that since Tobi's lips slowly stilled on his neck and the hands that clenched so tightly at his shirt loosened and fell away. Xaldin withdrew his hand and gently moved Tobi to see that she had beat him to the punch and fallen asleep already, well if those dark circles under her eyes were any indication she hadn't been getting much sleep lately. He cradled her gently in his arms and stared down at her slightly parted lips, swollen from the brief kisses they had shared.

What the hell had he been doing? Well Tobi was drunk so she probably didn't know any better but he wasn't even buzzed! Quickly he stood and placed her in the bed, covering her quickly with a blanket so she wouldn't be cold. His mind was a mess of confusion, self loathing and something altogether unexpected, happiness. That emotion is what disturbed him the most, as he rubbed a calloused hand across his face he couldn't help the dread that washed over him if Baxtthia ever found out. Maybe he would just take comfort in the fact that Tobi's guilt would make her keep her trap shut or she'd forget in the hangover she had tomorrow. He looked back down at the tiny girl asleep in his bed and had to look away again. There was something wrong him, never once had he been untrue to Baxtthia, not in the whole three years they were dating. Now all of a sudden this little girl comes bounding into his life and all he could think about was her and her big brown eyes and how small she was and how she needed someone to take care of her. She's said earlier that she didn't know if guys found her cute or not, well my dear, you are very cute and possibly the most seductive creature on the face of the planet when you don't even try!

Xaldin spent the rest of the night sleeping in his tub.

* * *

The next morning Xaldin carefully carried the still snoring Tobi downstairs and glared at the tie over her doorknob with disdain, it was all their fault! He went to open the door but found it locked, of course! He walked down the hall and tested Riku and Sora's door, thankfully it wasn't locked and he quietly slipped in, expertly ignoring the two half naked men curled together on one bed. He bent over and dropped Tobi onto the vacated bed and dropped her backpack as well. Before he could forget himself he quickly turned and left, shutting the door with an evident snap. He leaned wearily against the door and put his hands to his face, breathing slowly to calm himself. He knew what he had to do, now if he could just man up and do it.


End file.
